


One and Only

by Lananiuska



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:34:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25724431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lananiuska/pseuds/Lananiuska
Summary: For a long time, he has been living on denial, not wanting to admit that he was in love with his best friend. But when he starts to recognize his feelings for what they truly were, it may be a little too late.
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Robin Hood
Comments: 38
Kudos: 48





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, so this is yet another silly story for prompt week, and the theme will be (74) Outlaw Queen as roommates. It's going to be multi-chapter, but they are all going to be short. Enjoy

Walking in a bee-line through the long corridors of his New York apartment building, Robin Locksley couldn't help but to flash one of the biggest smiles he has ever sported that week. It was a genuine one, the kind that extended to his eyes and made the muscles of his cheeks tingle.

Now yes, for everyone who really knew the man, seeing him smiling and being an overall cheerful person wasn't exactly a rare sight, but that day… oh that day it was special.

That day he was beaming, irradiating through his pores a happiness that was hard to control, and as it always happened when he was feeling particularly like that, he couldn't wait to get home and share the news with the people he knew he was going to find there.

It was with the intention of telling them, that he accelerated his pace, his grin getting wider and wilder the closer he got to his door. Once there, he used his key and barely able to contain his excitement, he got in.

"Hey,"

Throwing his keys over the entry table by the door instead of hanging them in the nice and perfect key holder Regina got for them, his clear blue eyes scanned the place around, searching for at least one of the two persons he could share his joy with.

It didn't take long for him to spot the two of them, as he has hoped, so with the smile still on his face, he walked to where they were sitting in the living room.

"You guys are not going to believe what I got today." Throwing himself over the couch where Regina, his roommate and one of his best friends in the world was sitting, Robin bit over his lower lip, his breath stopping as he waited for either her or Little John, his other best friend, to start guessing.

Neither one even said a word, so putting the box set over the coffee table so that they could get a hint, he lifted an eyebrow… watching one after another as they ignored him.

Regina because she was too engrossed reading one of her books, probably studying, and John because he was busy stabbing his Nintendo Switch with his fingers.

Clearing his throat and sliding to the edge of the couch, Robin lifted both hands in the air before letting them drop. "Umm hello, anyone…. John?"

"Don't bother, he's playing Animal Crossing and-" She turned the page of her book and looked up at him, a soft sparkle taking hold of her chocolate brown eyes. "You know how he gets when he's playing anything."

Robin shrugged and turned towards her. "Well screw him and that bloody Animal whatever thing; guess what I have here." He said, the smile back on his face.

"Do you really have to throw that word in every sentence that you speak? You're always like, oh… bloody this, oh… bloody that. I mean we get it, you're British, so there's no need to put so much effort."

"What?" Robin snorted. "What are you talking about? I don't even use it that much…"

Arching an eyebrow, Regina set her eyes on his, almost challenging him, and just by that look, he knew he was going to end up confessing that yes, that maybe he did use that word a bit too much...

It was amazing, but she was like a jedi or something, with this crazy power of making him confess to anything. Especially when it came to the things he did wrong, like finishing the milk and forgetting to throw out the container, not picking on their mail, or even that time he kept forgetting to buy shampoo and ended up using all of hers.

She sensed those kinds of things, and more often than not, that look was all it took for him to spill the beans on everything he did… or didn't do...

It was one of those mysteries of life, how she was able to do that… almost as puzzling as the fact that they got along so well. And really, the ease in which they ended up being such good friends while being so different, was nothing short of being unexpected.

They were complete opposites, he was easy going, friendly, and more of the kind that took pleasure in the small things, while she was a bit more serious, sometimes even dry and not by any means a social butterfly.

They were like day and night, Yin and Yang… they balanced each other, and even when some people had a hard time believing it, their friendship worked perfectly with them being just the way they were.

But back to what he was trying to do, Robin tilted his head to the right and wondered why she wasn't playing along with him in this one. "Are you going to guess or not?" He asked at last, grabbing a glass of water that has been resting on the coffee table to take a sip. "Trust me on this one; this has nothing on the Holy Grail."

With that said and gulping half the water, the England native watched through half closed eyes as his friend's attention moved to the object he brought with him.

She looked at it for a while, but because it was still on the paper bag he brought it in, she seemed to have no luck. "Come on, you know I hate guessing so just tell me what it is."

Not wanting to hold it any longer, Robin grinned. "It's the Star Wars complete Saga in Blu-ray, all nine of the movies and they are all mine; and just for the fabulous price of fifty dollars. With this and the fabulous wonders of Uber Eats, I won't leave this apartment for the rest of the weekend."

Regina scoffed, her fingers brushing her hair behind her ear. "You know, there's a thing called Disney Plus where you could have watched all of them and guess what, for free, as we already have it."

"No, Regina… it's not the same, because nothing beats the thrill of having this in my collection of movies."

"You mean the ones you buy and never watch?"

"Well..." He snorted because she was right. He was an avid movie collector, but he rarely had the time to sit and watch any of the things he bought. But now, now it was different, because he had the entire weekend off and he meant to spend it in a Star Wars mood. "Actually I was thinking we could watch them. I could order something to eat and then it's Star Wars all night long… we could do a marathon."

It could be him, Regina, and Little John if he decided to hang out for a while longer. He usually was up for it, so even if the man wasn't paying attention now, he knew he would engage in the wonders of the movies once he put them on.

It would be a good excuse to get lazy and relax, so Robin was starting to get excited about it already.

"I can't tonight," She said, her tone unusually low and her eyes moving to the book once again. "I kind of have plans… well, a date."

"Oh alright..." Robin said. "Another girl's night out?" Because yes, he knew that every once in a while, Regina liked to go out with some of her friends to do whatever it was that women fancied doing when together.

Drink, probably, especially if Mal was involved, or dance since Regina did like it…

It was okay… he really didn't mind if she missed the first night of the marathon, because she could always join in the fun Saturday night. Maybe then, it could be just the two of them and they could order from that little Italian place she loved so much.

That would be good too; besides, there was another pro in her going out, and it was, that if he stayed up all night long watching the movies, he would probably see her come back and oh boy, he was going to tease her so hard if she came drunk like the last time.

Chuckling as he imagined the mortified look on her face if that happened, Robin nodded… because yes, he liked that scenario even better...

"Not, it's… not really a girl's night out." She responded without looking at him.

"Not really?" He frowned. "What do you mean not really?" With his eyes half closed he looked at her, wondering. Now... it couldn't be like a date-date, with a guy, now could it?

"Graham asked her out." That was Little John, because as it happened, at some point during the conversation between his two friends, he lost all interest in his game.

Now, as soon as he heard that, Robin choked with the water he was drinking and almost spilled the liquid all out; thankfully for those near him, he managed to swallow it down so he could laugh freely. And he laughed alright... out loud, shaking his head for the good part of a whole minute as he watched John smile widely.

"Graham, the same Graham that walks with that little bounce?" He asked, still laughing, but when he turned back to Regina, she was looking at him with one eyebrow arched and a serious expression on her face; her book was forgotten over the table.

"What's so funny?" She asked and all of a sudden, his laughter died.

"Oh, this is going to be interesting." John said, putting both his elbows over his knees and resting his chin over hands so he could watch.

"Please, tell me you are not seriously going out with Graham." Robin said, the intensity of his eyes only for Regina. But the look on her face was serious, meaning that she wasn't kidding.

Nah… it couldn't be… or could it?

"Unbelievable."

"Is it unbelievable for a guy to ask me out?"

"No, no…" He hurried to say. "It's just that... the bloke is a geek, Regina, he's a geek!"

"Yeah and this comes from the guy who is happy beyond reason because he's going to spend an entire Friday night watching Star Wars; a donkey can't talk about ears you know?"

Robin opened his mouth and lifted a finger to shake it in her face. "No, there's a huge difference between having a Star Wars marathon and I don't know, watching cartoons. Because that's what he does, he watches bloody G.I. Joe, Regina, and he collects the little figures…"

"Same way you have all those funkos?"

"Okay, let's start this all over again. Regina, you can't be serious about this. I mean why would you want to go out with Graham freaking Hunter of all people?"

"And why wouldn't I? Maybe for a change I want to be taken out to a nice place and dress up and just not be treated like one of the guys; maybe I don't want to spend the night watching Star Wars, eating junk food and drinking beer; and Graham is a nice… and looks nice, so what's wrong with that?"

Scoffing, Robin lifted both hands in the air and opened his eyes wide. "You really want me to tell you? Alright… well Regina, everything is wrong with that. Just… have you lost your mind? Graham? He's… he walks funny and, he's just… he won't treat you nice, he'll only treat you like his geeky companion and when-"

"Well maybe that's my problem and not yours." She interrupted him, getting up to her feet before storming away without looking back.

Robin followed her progress with his eyes until she disappeared into her bedroom, slamming the door hard enough to make him cringe.

"What is wrong with that woman, going out with Graham? Come on, I can think of at least a dozen better things she can do other than going on a date with him; like walk over nails or I don't know…watch paint dry on a wall."

"Dude, that was…" John bit on his lips and shook his head. "I think you screwed this one, she's pissed."

"Well let's hope I got some sense into her." He snorted. "Graham Hunter, like please… even his last name is shit."

"Alright, so the guy is maybe into the geeky side, I'll give you that, but did you really have to make her feel bad about it? I mean how many girls have you dated that she didn't like and how many times has she told you so."

"Never, she never had a problem with any of them." The blue-eyed man replied without thinking. Now he wasn't sure if it was because whenever he went out with someone new, Regina was always inconveniently too busy studying to interact so much with them, but the thing was that she has never had any kind of problem with them… and if she did, she never told him so.

"That's because she always tries to play it nice or not to nose in, but I know for a fact that she at least didn't like Marian.

"What, she loved Marian…" Or no?

"Anyway, my point is that the least you can do for her is play nice too and support her in this one."

Robin shook his head because no, there was no way he was going to support Regina going out with Graham, never. Only to think about it felt wrong.

She was too good to be wasted in the likes of a bloke like that. Besides, he couldn't see her dating... it was just weird.

Sure, it was true that when he met her she was with someone, with Daniel, but he never put much thought to it; first because he was dating Marian at the time and that woman was so consuming he didn't have time to be wondering about other people's relationships and second, because that was way back, before they even became roommates.

Now it was different… she was his best friend and yes, he was maybe a bit overprotective when it came to her.

What could he say? She was the only woman he could really rely on and even if their relationship wasn't by any means romantic, he wasn't willing to give her away to Graham fucking Hunter.

Call him an arse or egoistical, he didn't care; so shrugging, he shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. "Would you support her if she decided to jump off a cliff? Because I wouldn't."

"But she is not jumping off a cliff. She is going out with a nice dude, because let's face it, he is nice. He's also the kind woman dig… you know, pretty boy looks, steady job…"

"I have a steady job." And he didn't want to put it out there, but he didn't think he was too shabby either. Maybe not a pretty boy per se but yeah, he could hold on his own.

To what he said, Little John tilted his head and blinked. "You know something? If I didn't know any better, I would say that you are jealous. Is this because you think Graham is not the guy for her or would it be the same with any of the guys that could date her?"

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not jealous of someone that plays with G.I. Joes, it's just that Regina is my friend and… come on man, you know how it is with these guys so… I don't think she should date, anyone, ever."

With a laugh, John shook his head. "Alright, good luck with that dude, because you just have to know that with her finally putting herself out in the dating scene, she will be asked a lot and most of those times, she will say yes. If it's not Graham, it will be someone else."

"She's too busy studying… she can't be dating right now."

"I wouldn't be so sure, she was pretty excited about it before you came here. And come on, can we blame her? She's a woman and women like to go out to nice places and they want a guy to appreciate them and she doesn't have any of that, _never_." He said, putting emphasis in the last word.

"I take her out all the time," Robin said with a shrug. In fact they were together all the time, didn't that count for something?

"First of all, no you don't, and second, it's not the same because you just said that you are just friends, so even if you take her out, it would be invalid. Of course, that's unless you like her as more than friends and wouldn't that be something, that after having her so close for so long, you never took the chance and now she's going out with Graham..."

"That psychology doesn't work with me smarty pants, I just see her as my friend. Yes, she is beautiful and smart… and funny in her own kind of way all that stuff but she is… Regina."

"Then let her try this thing, if it doesn't work then fine, but if it works, you'll have no choice but to be happy because she'll be happy. That's what a real friend would do."

Robin drew in a deep breath, trying to form an image of Regina with Graham kissing and acting all lovely dovey and the image he came up with made him want to punch that stupid man and break his perfect teeth.

Could it be that Little John was right and he was indeed jealous?

No… that couldn't be, to be jealous would mean that he wanted Regina to be more than his friend and he didn't want that. Or did he?

Frowning, he tried to form another picture, this one of him and Regina, kissing...

He didn't object to the image in his mind… actually, if anything, it only made him curious to know how it would feel to actually do it.

Nice… he bet, because she did have nice lips. Definitely kissable, especially when she was thinking hard on something and would lightly bite on them... or when she would pout, be it because she was upset or annoyed.

Shaking the images off his mind by moving his head from side to side, Robin allowed his eyes to get glued to her closed door; then, grabbing his Star Wars box set, he angrily got to his feet, refusing to acknowledge out loud the thoughts he just had about Regina.

Maybe he did like her, maybe it was just him being an arse, or maybe it was simply the fact that he, as the good friend that he was, wanted to hold to that friendship forever.

Whatever it was, the fact was that he wasn't going to let Graham get away with taking her away… at least not under his watch….

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 13: "Why do I even bother with you?" "You'd miss my face too much if you didn't."

"I can't believe you are making me do this."

"And I can't believe she really went out with that wanker. I mean… she really went ahead with it and now look at them, all dressed up and just… doing dating-ish things..." Without taking his eyes away from the duo who sat a few tables away from his undercover spot behind a fish tank, Robin complained bitterly, his upper lip snarling as he spoke. "This is just fucked up… like… she _really_ went out with Graham _freaking_ Hunter." He tsked, shaking his head in disbelief.

"She's going to be so mad if she knows we are here, and just so you know, I'll lay all the blame on you, buddy. Hell, if she even looks this way, I swear I'm going to run for my life; and if for some reason I can't, I'll say that you dragged me here against my will."

Robin ignored Little John and kept staring straight ahead, his lips moving as he hissed under his breath. He has been there for a short while now, stealing furtive glances at his friend and her so called date… watching as they talked and smiled as if all was right in the world.

Well, their merriness was stupid and it made him want to throw up in Graham's face; because no, there was nothing right in the world and definitely nothing right about the image that was burning into his brain as he watched.

It was all just so, so bloody wrong.

Regina and Graham were wrong, period. And yeah, the bloque may have the looks women digged or whatever, but he was the perfect personification of what boring was and he had no business 'dating' someone of Regina's caliber.

Sure, he could dress to impress, he could smile as dashingly as he wanted to, and he could look like one of those little Ken dolls or whatever they were called, but all that was a superficial thing, because inside, he was just an insipid little… gormless muppet.

As for Regina... he didn't know what to say, he couldn't believe she went on a date with him willingly, and on his movie night nonetheless!

That was the worst of all, that she dissed him for the lost member of the Spice Girls, Geeky Spice! It was a blow to the gut and he felt like retaliating on the man's face, using his fist a thousand times.

That would wipe his pretty boy looks and wouldn't that be something.

"What are they talking about anyway? Mario Kart and comics? Idiot, I bet he will try to pay with monopoly money. Ten dollars that she is already bored out of her mind."

Little John sighed and ran a hand down his jaw. "I don't know man, it doesn't look like she is bored. She actually looks- Oh, look… she's laughing, you owe me ten bucks!"

Robin narrowed his eyes and sent a dirty look towards John; it lasted a second though, then he was back at watching Graham and Regina.

"Really, I'm not sure why you are roasting this guy here, I mean he is not that bad. Yes, he collects G.I. Joes, but hey, it's not like we can talk… especially you… like, weren't you geeking out when we went to the San Diego Comic Con last year? And let's not talk about your closet… dude, ninety nine percent of what you wear is either band t-shirts or those weird graphic ones so-" After saying that, John snickered, making Robin go back to glaring at him.

"Who's side are you here, mine or that power ranger wannabe?"

"Oh I'm a hundred percent on Team Regina, sorry man."

"You are a fucking Judas."

"No I'm not. Trust me, if it was a case where Team Robin and Team Graham were competing for her, I would be on your team all the way; I wouldn't even think of going any other way. But because you say this sudden outburst of jealousy doesn't have anything to do with you liking her as more than a friend, I have to root for the guy who actually wants to date her."

Robin chewed hard on his fruity flavored gum and blinked slowly. "I swear all I heard was blah blah blah, but please don't care to repeat it again. P.S. I'm not jealous."

"Denial ain't just a river in Egypt man, I mean it's obvious that we are here stalking her because you are _**not**_ jealous."

"Gentlemen, can I help you with something?"

Robin tilted his head to the side to see out of the corner of his eye that there was a waitress guy standing behind him; he was obviously talking to him and John, so the London native decided to respond. "No, we are fine."

"Sir, you can't stand here without ordering…"

"Come on, it's not like we are occupying one of your tables, we are just standing here, watching the fish…"

"I'm sorry, it's the restaurant's policy. If you are not consuming anything, I will have to ask you to leave."

Puffing out a breath, Robin looked the waitress over. "Fine, then bring me a Diet Coke." Putting his hand into his jeans pocket, he took out his wallet and started to look for some cash. "Now I'll have to pay for an overpriced soda just because I want to watch the fish! How much is it?"

"Dude." Little John cleared his throat, scratching his head with one hand while with the other he covered his profile. "I think we've been spotted."

With his friend's words sinking in, Robin lifted the wallet to his face and covered up. "You know, I'm not thirsty anymore so we'll just kind of just leave… now."

"Robin?"

Looking from right to left, the blue-eyed man shook his head a few times, looking everywhere but where he knew Regina to be. "Uh? What? Who's calling me?"

"Robin Locksley," She hissed, her tone of voice meaning business. "And you John, don't you dare move..."

"Shit, man… now you got me in trouble." John hissed between clenched teeth, apparently not daring to move a muscle.

Knowing himself to be screwed, Robin had no other choice than to look at her, and when he did, he beamed. "Regina! Oh my God what are you doing here? Oh and looking so _purty_."

The young brunette woman didn't seem amused to see them there, that was for sure; she was actually looking pretty mad, sitting in her dress while shooting them… or should he say him? an icy-cold glance.

Did that bother him? Sure, but only because it was the second time that day she got mad at him because of Graham.

But was he going to let it get to him? Hell no!

If he came all the way to that restaurant, it was because he internally knew he needed to ruin her date, so with that in mind, he walked to her, grabbed an empty chair from the table at the side and dragged it to where she was.

"Did you come to eat too? I heard this was the best restaurant in town. What did you order?"

"We haven't ordered yet, we just got here."

At the sound of that voice, Robin clicked his tongue and leered towards the source. "Hey Graham, I almost couldn't recognize you… is that a real tie? It looks… so not like you. Trying to impress my friend here or what?"

The other man chuckled and lowered his head, not giving any other kind of response. Ha, team Robin: 1

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Regina asked, getting up to her feet and sending him a murderous glance. She then walked away, giving Robin no other choice than getting up to follow her.

Whatever, she was mad but at least he got her out of the table. Grinning and walking right behind her, his eyes took in her image, noticing how she dressed up for her fiasco of a date; black dress, high red heels, hair down and straightened out… make up… she was looking really nice and so not worthy of Graham.

She never dressed like that with him. Never… but then again, they never went out like this.

Bars? Yes, always with other friends riding along though. There has also been more than a few coffee-shop hang outs and many, many trips to the movies. But nothing ever worthy of her dressing up so… well, like that. It made him feel like he needed a moment to appreciate it.

Now, the dress wasn't too revealing but it hinted at the wonders she hid so well, it embraced her curves perfectly and yeah, dressed like that, his eyes were not objecting on seeing her walk right in front of him… especially with the strut the heels added to her walk.

Now sure, he has noticed her like that before, how couldn't he not? Like… it wasn't like he was blind, and Regina… well she really had a nice ass and that was something hard to miss.

He never commented on that or even looked at her in any way that would make her feel uncomfortable, but at the end of the day, he was a guy like any other and yes, there has been times when his eyes would wander...

Not like in a 'checking her out; kind of way, he was just...

"What the hell are you doing?" She asked, turning around and for some reason, Robin felt like defending himself for the simple fact that his eyes had been glued to a certain part of her anatomy he had no right in checking out.

"Nothing, I swear." He moved his eyes up to her face and lifted his hands.

"So you just casually walked here and right to our table?" She said, crossing her arms up to her chest.

Oh, that… for a moment he thought he has been busted staring.

"Well yeah," He scratched his head and shrugged. "I didn't feel like doing movie marathon night alone with Little John so we googled for the best restaurant around." That was what he was saying, but the truth was that he casually followed their Uber when they left. "I didn't know Graham was taking you here, I mean who would have thought it? He strikes me as the kind who would take a date to Chuck E. Cheese, not a restaurant."

Once again she was not amused, it showed in her face.

"It's not like I was following you, I wouldn't do that Regina, you know it… but if you want, we'll leave." He shrugged, put his hands inside his pockets and pouted. "We can find another place to eat… I guess. John is starving but he will understand."

The brunette took in a deep breath and Robin knew he almost had here where he wanted; she just needed a little push. So with that in mind, he ventured to look into her lovely brown eyes before speaking. "Just don't be mad at us, please."

Groaning, Regina ran her tongue over her lips and let her arms fall to her sides. "I'm so going to regret this, I know I will. Just, don't make fun of Graham, okay."

Fuck yes! Up yours Graham! Ha, even on a date with him she didn't mind his company and that said a lot!

"I promise; we just want to eat in peace, okay? We'll do that and then we'll be gone. You won't even notice us. Now come here." He extended his arms and pulled her to him.

It was a brief hug, the kind he knew she wasn't going to repel because yeah, everyone knew she wasn't exactly a touchy friendly person. But these little hugs? She never objected to them, and that night he wanted to milk her willingness for all it was worth it.

Now… when her body pressed against his and the soft scent of her perfume hit his nose, he didn't feel like letting go.

She felt… nice, very nice.

"You are wearing perfume." He mumbled, his hands resting on her back and his eyes looking down to her silky dark hair.

Then she looked up and shit, he was fucked. He knew it when her sparkling eyes fixed on his and yes, for a moment, with her so close and looking at him like that, he was rendered speechless.

At least until the spell was broken when she punched his arm. "Shut up."

It made him snap back to reality and stand his ground. "No… it's nice, I mean… I'm wearing some myself, check it out. Maybe when Little John and I finish eating, I'll try to find myself a date. I saw a pretty blonde by the bar when we came in and she was all alone."

Actually, he didn't, as he was too focused on her to notice anyone; but lying about it would throw her off course about his real intentions of sabotaging her date.

Rolling her eyes, Regina scoffed. She did however, lean a bit into him to breathe into his scent. But then, she pulled away and sighed. "That's nice, but you won't be making any good impressions with that old Beatles shirt."

"Come on Regina, I don't need a tie to pick up a date, I mean have you seen this face, or paid attention to how charming I can be?"

Snarling her lips in typical Regina fashion, the dark-haired woman breathed it and took a step back. "Why do I even bother with you?"

Robin smiled, his eyes on her face because wow, she really, really looked pretty that night. "You'd miss my face too much if you didn't."

"Yeah, anyway… let's just eat... and please try not to ruin my night."

Robin smiled… chewing slowly on his lips. "I won't… I won't."

20 Minutes Later...

"This is the worst night. Ever." Robin mumbled under his breath as he squeezed into his closed fist the fork he apparently wanted to bend out of shape. "I even feel like throwing up… on his dinner… or better yet, on his face. Do you think I'll be able to do it? I mean throw up on him a la exorcist while sitting here?"

Instead of getting an answer, what Robin received was an elbow to the side from Little John, and he had no other choice but to tear his simmering blue eyes away from the duo sitting in front of him so he could send his traitorous friend a dirty glance.

"Why are you hitting me?"

"Shhh, lower your voice or she's going to hear you, man."

"Yeah, I hope so. That way I may break the spell he put her on and I don't know, once she's back to her senses, I'm sure she'll walk out on him on her own accord." He mumbled again, watching Regina laugh softly as the love child of Mr. Spock and Barbie whispered something to her ear. "What can he possibly be saying that's so funny?"

"What would I know, why don't you ask her? Or not, now that I think on it, the less you talk out loud the better for you. Dude… I don't even know how you managed to convince her to let us stay here or why she believed you when you told her that we casually walked into this place."

"Because that's what happened and that's what you are going to say if she asks you."

"Easy for you to say it; for you it might be effortless to do things like this but I don't do this kind of shit, ever. I don't even know how to lie to her; I mean.. she has like a natural lie detector system encrusted in her eyes and I've never been able to deceive her. She'll know I'm lying and she'll kill me… oh, but let me tell you, if I go down, so will you."

Blowing out a breath, Robin chuckled. "Am I hearing right, is the great Little John afraid of Regina? Come on, man, she's just a little thing… look at her..."

"Hmmm?" The brunette sitting in front of them mumbled and both John and Robin turned their faces to her. She was looking back at them with a dreamy expression in her face, and Robin knew by just looking at her, that she only changed her attention to them because she heard them say her name.

"It was him, I swear." Little John hurried to say while lifting his hands up in the air; this time Robin was the one elbowing him. "I think I'll go use the bathroom for a while." With that said, John got to his feet and fled the scene.

"It's the shrimp, it always makes him a little loose on the stomach." Robin said after clicking his tongue to his cheek. Then he smiled broadly and shrugged.

"He wasn't eating shrimp." Graham pointed out as a matter of fact and Robin arched an eyebrow, his eyes fixing on those of the other man.

Clever… he had to give it to him; he got him there. And there he was thinking that the lost geeky spice boy only had eyes for Regina and not for what he and John were eating or doing.

Not that he blamed him, because his dear friend was looking especially pretty that night... but anyway, that wasn't the point, the point was that Robin didn't like at all the way Graham was looking at him.

Was he trying to make him look bad? Was he seeing him as a threat? Because if that was the case, then he was right; he was a real threat, and the man had to go through him if he intended to walk out of that restaurant with Regina.

"Yeah, and your point is?"

Lowering his eyes, Graham smiled a clandestine smile while running a finger through his temples. Robin grinned, happy to see that the man definitely seemed uncomfortable with his presence. Now he wondered if he would man up and tell him to get off his ass and leave him and Regina alone on their fiasco of a date.

Somehow he didn't think so. This Hunter bloke didn't seem too forward and he wondered what would it take to push his buttons and make him leave.

"So Graham-" He said as he rested his elbows on top of the table. "How come I didn't know you liked Regina enough to ask her out in a date? I mean… we've hung out in the same spot many times, haven't we? So how come you never mentioned it?"

"Robin-" Regina said in a warning tone that he chose to ignore.

Smiling, Graham put a hand over Regina's and focused his eyes on her and on her only. "It's okay." With that said, he proceeded to tilt his head to the side and with the smile still on his lips, he fixed his glance now on Robin. "Well… Robin… I didn't know that to get to her, I would have to go to you first so that's why you didn't know. I wasn't aware that you acted as her guardian, or her Chaperone."

"Oh that's funny... Chaperone… yeah very funny. Well, I'm not her chaperone; I'm her friend and as her friend I'm always on the lookout so guys like you won't come trying to take advantage of her."

"Robin, that's enough."

"I'm not here to take advantage of her, I respect her and if you care about her as much as you say you do, you wouldn't be here ruining what was supposed to be a nice relaxing time for her."

"Oh I'm ruining her night? Pardon me, but I thought I was saving her for a night full of boredom."

"Hey-" Regina warned once again.

"She's not bored."

"Of course she is. In fact she is so bored with your geekiness that she let us sit here with you, and on your date night nonetheless."

"That's enough!" Regina said out loud as she slammed her hand on top of the table, making both men look at her at once.

Upon fixing his eyes on her, Robin realized that she was really mad this time and that he wasn't going to get on her good side anytime soon. Nope, not at all, she definitely had the pissed off look on her; her cheeks were even tinged with red with the force of her anger and her eyes were shooting daggers everywhere she looked.

Watching her like that made him want to knock Graham's teeth out of his mouth for making him make Regina mad…

"I'm sorry." Graham said and to his credit, he really looked sorry. "I wasn't… it was not my place to follow him on his games so I'm really sorry. I don't want to cause more trouble so I think I better go… I'll talk to you later, okay?" Once Graham said that, he got up from his chair to kiss Regina on the cheek and then turned his back on them to go away.

Was that it? Did he really make him go away in less than half an hour since he sat there? That was like a personal record to him and he couldn't help but to flash a big confident grin as he watched the other man go.

That was a KO and what was better, he didn't even have to break a sweat!

"Was that what you wanted?" Regina asked through clenched teeth and her tone made Robin come crashing back to reality.

Sure, maybe Graham was gone and that was a personal victory to him, but Regina was still there… and the thing was, that when Regina was mad, like really genuinely mad, things tended to get a little intense.

But even though he knew how bad her temper could turn to, he used the frankness that characterized him and said it how it was. Why? Because he didn't want to apologize and make her believe he was okay with her dating Graham, no… so he had to be honest in this. "Well, I didn't want you to get upset, but I can't lie, I'm not sad to see him go."

"You are impossible." She hissed before getting up to her feet. Once up, she turned on her heels and walked out on him.

"This is bloody fantastic." He mumbled under his breath because like he pointed out, making her mad was not exactly what he has been looking out to do. Yet he did, so not wanting her to go away like that, he quickly stood up and followed her, catching up to her when she was near the bathrooms. "Regina, wait…"

Because she didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon, Robin reached for her and grabbed her upper arm to make her stop. That seemed to work, and even though she didn't turn around to face him, the blue-eyed man was content that at least she wasn't trying to walk away.

"Why did you do that?" She asked, her tone eerily calm… thing that wasn't necessarily good, he knew...

"Because I wanted you to stop?" He said, knowing full well that she wasn't talking about him following her and making her halt.

"I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about Graham. You promised that you were not going to sit there and ruin my night and that's exactly what you did." She said reproachfully, and even though her back was to him, Robin could see the way her shoulders tensed when she spoke. "You promised and I believed you."

Scratching his head, Robin bit his tongue so he wouldn't say that he only promised not to make fun of Graham, not that he wasn't going to make him go away. "Okay… maybe I lied a little; but Regina… that bloke is no good for you; you are too good for him…"

Turning around to look at him face to face, Regina crossed her arms to her chest and pursed her lips. While standing right in front of him, her eyes delved deep into his and for some reason, Robin was unable to look away. "If you don't want me to go out with anyone, then maybe you should ask me out yourself."

Upon hearing her words, Robin almost choked on air and he was sure that he did a double take. "What… why would…? That's not…" For the first time in ages, Robin found himself out of words as he honestly didn't know what to say. He just didn't know what she meant by that…

Was it that she wanted him to ask her out, was that what she said? To him, it definitely sounded like that but he couldn't say; as a rule, when women said something they meant an entirely different thing and he was no expert on deciphering their dialect.

But Regina was no ordinary woman so who knew… maybe she was indeed letting him know that she wanted him to ask her out.

At his lack of words, Regina nodded, her eyes still on his as he returned the eye-lock with a confused stare. For a while that was all they did, look at each other, blue on brown as the world moved on around them. But then, she scoffed, turned around and began to walk away once again.

What happened next was really confusing and he watched it happen as if he was someone else. He walked to her once again and in the same manner than before, he grabbed her by the arm. The only difference was that he made her turn to him this time and once he had her face to him, he leaned closer and pressed his lips to hers.

It was really like an out of body experience, and if it wasn't because he could feel the softness of her lips glued to his and the silky texture of her hair underneath the hand that was holding her to him, he would definitely think that he was imagining it.

So yes, it felt surreal, especially when he nudged at her bottom lip with his teeth and she allowed him to slide his tongue right in so he could touch it to hers. The contact was brief, a little swirl that allowed him to taste her sweetness like never before.

But then, just when he was getting into the moment, he felt a pair of hands settle on his chest and the next thing he knew, Regina was pushing him away. That took him by surprise, but the real shock of the evening came when she slapped him right across the face.

"Don't you ever do that again." She hissed through clenched teeth and before Robin could even say ouch, she was gone.

A little shocked, he remained where he was, feeling his check tingling and a weird sensation forming at the pit of his stomach. "What the fuck was that?" He asked no one in particular…

As he stood there, he heard someone clearing his throat and without having to take a look, he knew it was Little John. "I think I better go with her… you know, so I'll just… go."

Robin nodded, his eyes focused straight ahead while he absentmindedly licked his lips. As he did that, his mind racing, John walked by his side and disappeared after Regina... walking out of the restaurant and into the streets of Brooklyn.

Once they were both gone, Robin lowered his eyes and took a deep breath.

He wasn't sure, but for some reason he was almost a hundred percent positive that he screwed up, and this time he didn't know how to fix it…

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

"Man, that was brutal." Little John said in an amused chuckle as Robin sat down at the edge of his bed, his elbows resting over his knees and the palms of his hands covering his face."I mean it was like BOOM, one moment you are kissing her and next thing you know she's slapping the taste out of your mouth. I bet you weren't expecting that."

"Can we just like… not talk about that?" Robin replied through clenched teeth as the memory of his last encounter with Regina came back to invade his mind, again.

"What? No way! I have material here to talk for a lifetime and trust me, Robs, I'm not going to let you live without reminding you about it every day of my life. Kissy-kissy-Boom!"

Tilting his head slowly up, Robin stared at the other man through half closed eyes, watching with some sort of grudge how he was just there, smiling knowingly at him as he munched out of a bag of chips.

"It stung, didn't it?"

Right in that moment, as he said that, his so-called friend was in his list of people he didn't like very much and he wondered what would happen if he kind of knocked the bag right off his hold.

Not that he was going to, mind you, as he would end up being the one cleaning the mess; but in his mind he could imagine it and the feeling was so sweet. His hand slapping the bag down, chips flying everywhere, John's desperate face as he tried to grab for his snack as he smuggly went like, 'I bet you didn't expect that, uh? Uh?'

Yeah… he wanted to do it so bad now…

"Must sting the same way it does to admit that I was right since the very beginning, and that all that elaborate plan of following Regina around and then ruining her date was because you were jealous; just like I said you were."

"Don't be ridiculous. I wasn't jealous-" He began to say, but before he could go on, John lifted a hand in the air and cut him off with a gesture.

"Yes you were. Man, if it wasn't because you got jealous, you wouldn't have even stepped over the line to one, ruin her date, two, kiss her." Little John said knowingly, his lips curving into a smile as he stared down to his friend.

Snorting and shrugging, Robin shook his head because no, he wasn't going to admit to such a thing to John. Not when he wasn't sure if he was even ready to admit it to himself because let's face it… the whole thing was crazy and he was yet to fully grasp what it meant and all the implications it carried along.

"Seriously John, what I did was not because I got jealous of Frodo back there, so just drop it."

"No? Then why were you so set up on ruining their date and most importantly, why did you kiss her?"

"Because…" Puffing out a breath, the man known as Robin Locksley shrugged once again and then, he kept his answer in hold.

To be honest, he didn't know why he kissed Regina; an entire day after the incident, he has tried to come up with a reasonable explanation to justify that little moment of insanity and every time he would think about it, he has come out blank.

Sure, he could say that he did it in a moment of desperation where he wanted to prevent her from slipping through his fingers; but if he would accept that, he would also have to accept that he was jealous and that maybe, just maybe, his interest in his best friend went beyond a simple friendship.

Playing with that idea was more than what his mind could cope with and it made him question each and everyone of their interactions; it made him wonder about his motives when it came to how he always went out of his way to make her laugh and why it was so satisfying when she did, it made him muse about why he never made it last with any of the girlfriends he has meet after she came into his life and it definitely made him think of the times he has bragged about being an expert in the arts of her.

And he really, really was. He knew all of her moods just by looking at her, he knew how to appease her, he knew when she needed time for herself and when it was the right time for her favorite kind of coffee…

So… putting it all like that, could it be that… that deep inside his fondness to her was because he was very much into her?

"You know what? I long ago swore that I would never insert myself into your business, but I just have to say this, man. With such a brilliant mind that you have, sometimes you are really dumb."

Snorting at the incongruence of that statement, Robin arched an eyebrow and raised both hands in the air. He said nothing though, because but from acting all funny a minute ago, John was now looking kind of serious and the change in him made him be very interested in what he was going to say.

"Do you know that last night, I had to go after her and take her back here because she was so upset I was afraid to leave her wandering on her own?"

"I'm going to apologize." He said in a low tone because yeah, he knew he acted like a total dick and he needed to apologize to her about everything.

He was just postponing the encounter because he knew it was going to be awkward and because well… she was kind of evading him.

"It's not about apologizing, Robin; it's about you being blind about everything that surrounds you. Why do you think she was upset?"

"Well duh, because of the whole Graham thing…" Oh, she was probably upset about the kiss because like John said, he just stepped over the line with her.

"Wrong; she was upset because you kissed her without even meaning it. Damn it Robin, you really need to pull your head out of your ass. Regina likes you, I think she has always done so and not necessarily because you are friend of the year. She likes _you_ , for whatever reason that is, but because you 'supposedly' have no interest in her, she remains the loyal friend that asks nothing in return while you take everything she has."

Being caught by surprise by those words, Robin blinked a couple of times and tried to register in his mind all the information John was feeding him.

Regina liked him? He has never even thought about the possibility of that. Fuck, even in the last day when he has been thinking about the kiss, he has never played with the idea that she actually liked him in other way that wasn't purely friendly. After all, she has never said or acted in a way that he would make him feel otherwise and then yeah, in that one and only time that he kissed her, she slapped him and told him never to do that again.

Sure, for a moment she has kissed him back… but it has been just for a second before getting back to her senses.

"So I don't know, take that blindfold off your eyes and think very well on what you say to her next time you see her. Anyway, I'm going to go now… you are too broody and stupid for my liking anyway." With that said, John gave him one last glance and then he got up and turned around to leave.

Once he was back alone, Robin chewed on his lower lip, musing about what his friend told him.

Regina liked him…

In some weird kind of way, the notion that John may be right made him smile and he thought about all the times he and Regina had been spending together. As of late, it was a lot of time and he couldn't even remember himself wanting to change that. She was his favorite shopping partner, his favorite movie companion and sure, he would even go as far as saying that she was his favorite person to have around.

Maybe that was why he reacted so badly when she told him that she wanted to go out in a date with Graham, because deep inside he knew that if she started to date around, she wasn't going to spend much time with him and being the egotistical jerk that he was, he wanted to prevent that.

True, that didn't necessarily mean that he liked her though, it just meant that he was a prick.

Lowering his head in unusual shame for a few seconds because he has never meant to act like that with her of all people, Robin breathed in and after thinking about it briefly, he decided to get his arse moving so he could go to her and apologize for what he did once and for all.

He also wanted to see her; actually, he was suddenly craving to look at her face, so with that thought in mind, he got to his feet, walked out the door and headed directly to the place he knew he could find her, her bedroom.

Once standing in front of the door, he drew in a deep breath and mentally getting ready for what was to come, he lifted a hand to knock, waiting and waiting until the door was opened at last, revealing a very serious Regina at the other side.

"Hey," He said, feeling a bit unsure of himself while his eyes fixed in her stormy chocolate orbs, watching her as she quirked her lips and shifted the weight of her body entirely to her left leg.

She looked good… she always did, actually, and that was something he wouldn't be able to deny. But in that particular day, he liked how nice she looked, rocking that 'I'm home relaxing look' with her face free of any makeup and glowing in her natural beauty, her hair loose and falling softly down her shoulders while the tank top she was wearing gave a hint of her slim but oh so curvy frame...

"What do you want?" She asked dryly, crossing her arms to her chest and keeping her eyes petulantly fixed on his.

By her posture, it was obvious in Robin's eyes that she was still mad or upset about the other night and he could honestly say he didn't know how to act.

Sure, he could go straight to the point and mumble a very convincing I'm sorry, but given the nature of what happened, he wasn't sure if that was going to cut it.

He messed up, bad, not only with the Graham thing, but more so because he kissed her… he bloody kissed her and he didn't even know how to approach that, especially if what John said was true and she liked him.

But it was like it was, he did it, fucked it all up, and now this was something he needed to do.

Sucking in a breath, the London native put his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, looked down to the floor and shrugged. "I just wanted to apologize about the other night." He said, lifting his face up and staring directly into her eyes. "I was out of place and I shouldn't have done it."

Regina nodded and bit down on her lips, but she said nothing.

It made him feel awkward, so wanting to move forward, he lifted his hand to his face, cleared his throat and went on. "You know I suck at this apologizing stuff, but I'm really, really sorry that I ruined your night and all that."

Arching an eyebrow, the brunette woman breathed deeply in. "Okay." With that said, she tried to move from her spot so she could sneak back into her bedroom.

Her words came out flat, and because Robin knew her too well to know that accepting his apologies in such a dry manner was as fake as a three dollar bill, he grabbed her by the arm and prevented her from going back and instead, he made her step out from underneath the door frame. She ended up rolling her eyes, but she made no intention of walking away.

"I'm not… okay, it's obvious that you are still mad at me."

Blinking slowly and pursing her lips, Regina sighed in exasperation. "I'm not mad; I just want to go back there so I can keep doing what I was doing."

"Come on, you _are_ mad, you can't even hide it." He stated the fact as he got a bit closer to her. She didn't have to say that she was angry, he could see it in her smoldering eyes and in the way her face was a bit flushed as she stared daggers up at him.

She looked pretty when she was mad and as he watched her, a heavy realization hit him full force. He wanted to kiss her one more time and see if her lips were as soft as they were the night before, he also didn't want her to be mad at him, ever and instead he wanted to kiss her on an on. "Regina..."

"You know, maybe I am still mad at you, Robin. I mean you always-"

"Is it because of the kiss or because of the Graham thing?" Cutting her off, he took another step towards her and the brunette actually tried to take a step back only to find that the wall behind her wouldn't let her do it.

"Both. You had no right, Robin, no right."

Nodding, Robin looked down to her. "I know… I've been thinking about it and you are right, I had no right in ruining your night and I shouldn't have kissed you. But you know what?"

He asked as he casually took one his hands off his pockets to place it against the wall behind her.

"I'm also glad that things turned out that way because I didn't want you going out with Graham."

"Oh my God, you're such an impossible asshole." Scoffing in disbelief, Regina tried to push him away, but Robin stood his ground and remained in place. "Get off my way, you jerk; I'm really not in the mood for this."

"No, Regina; I mean now that we are here, why can't we be honest with each other? I won't lie to you and say I'm sorry he was gone because I am not. Now, is it true that you like me in a… let's say, more than friends kind of way?"

Groaning and then blinking a couple of times, Regina took in a deep breath. She was looking at him in apparent calm, but Robin knew that her mind was running a thousand miles per second and that she was trying to figure out two things, who told him such a thing and how to respond.

"You answer me that and maybe I'll admit that I did all of what I did because I was jealous."

At his words, Regina licked her lips and lifted her chin up, almost defiantly. "I like you in more than a friendly way, yes." She said in that brutal way that characterized her and at the simplicity of it, Robin grinned, suddenly feeling positive and excited about the whole thing.

That has been easy...

"Well, I was jealous because you were going out with Graham."

Arching an eyebrow, the brown-eyed woman shifted her weight back to her right foot and shrugged. Robin took that as his green light to go on and he leaned into her, getting so close that his lips were brushing against hers.

But before he could do as much as pressing his lips fully against her in a proper kiss like he meant to, she moved her head to the side and placing her hands against his chest, she forced him back a step.

"Don't even think about it." She said in a warning; but instead of her voice carrying the bitter tone she has been using on him earlier on, he thought he noticed a small change in her… maybe even playful?

He wasn't sure, and before he could ask or think too much about it, she sneaked away from him and walked directly into the room; leaving him hanging there while the corner of his lips curved into a smile.

It was okay though, he was going to give her a little bit of time to cope with all of what was going on and then he was going to make another approach, and in that one, he was going to blow her mind; because if she already liked him, he couldn't wait to see how she would feel when he actually made an effort to impress her.

And yes, he meant to do that, he was going to do good by her because she really deserved that.

Clapping his hands together, Robin went back to his room and started to think, his mind rolling over and over as he thought about this new development.

He was excited… maybe even happy and why wouldn't he be? After all, everything in his life seemed to be falling in place and that was a good excuse to feel like that. He had a good job, a solid group of friends and yeah, after he talked to Regina, he was sure that not only she liked him, but he was now sure that he liked her too.

Sure, at the beginning it has been a bit weird to admit it, but he put his mind to use about the whole thing as the day progressed and at the end of so much thinking, the only thing he couldn't understand was how come he didn't realize it before.

Yeah he always thought she was beautiful and more or less perfect, but the way he was seeing it now, it was like this: for the longest time he had this amazing woman at reaching distance that was pretty, smart and rightdown interesting, and he just overlooked her.

Crazy but true.

He really didn't get how that happened because the clues were out there for everyone to see; they liked spending time together, they knew each other to a tee and he would rather spend the day with her than with any of his other friends.

He even went as far as to plot with Little John to ruin her fiasco of a date with Graham, so yeah… that should have been his biggest wake-up call.

And that was with them just as friends… now that he couldn't take his mind away from the fact that there could be more between them, he wanted the whole dynamic of their relationship to change.

It was the next logical step to take and he wanted to take it.

He was sure that they would be great; after all Regina already knew everything that was bad about him and after all those years, she has remained there by him. Through the good and the bad.

Still grinning and shaking his head from side to side, Robin thought that yeah, the fact that she has stuck with him through a lot of his bullshit spoke volumes of how much she cared about him and that meant a lot.

That was why she was one of his favorite people all around, and he couldn't even begin to imagine how much more he would like her or even feel for her if they took that next step…

She was probably going to own him in every aspect, and he was happy with the idea. He was even looking forward for it.

What could he say? She was just perfect. Sure, she could pack an attitude from time to time, but he wouldn't like her any other way, and the possibility of getting to know her on this whole new different level, could end up being everything his life needed.

It would be like still having his best friend, but with the difference that he wanted to woo her now, and kiss her, he wanted to kiss her a lot.

With that thought in mind, he spent the good part of the next few hours plotting and scheming on ways to humor her. When he was done, he decided to go to her once again, so walking out of his room, he started walking forward, his eyes focused only on the path ahead of him.

With the goal of talking to her deep inside his skull, Robin made a left turn that was going to take him from his door to hers, not that he had to make it all the way there, because just as he walked out of his door, he saw her…

In fact, he almost collided against her and at the sudden apparition he smiled. "Hey-". He said as she took a step back.

"Sorry, I didn't see you." She breathed out and for a second she smiled too.

"Yeah, I didn't see you either; but it's a good thing I ran into you because I was actually on my way to you."

Arching an eyebrow, Regina tilted her head up and looked up to him. "What for?"

Snorting at the awkwardness of this encounter, Robin shook his head as he ran the tips of his fingers over his jaw. There was no need to feel awkward… after all, this was Regina. "Well, I actually wanted to talk to you but not here, so why don't you get ready, grab your things so we can like… go out? Come on, I'll take you out to eat somewhere nice."

At that, Regina wrinkled her nose and puffed out a breath. "Sorry, I have plans for tonight already. Maybe some other night?" She said with a shrug and then she attempted to walk by him.

Seeing her intentions and not wanting her to flee, Robin reached for her and grabbed her by the arm, making her turn around so she could face him. "Hey, I'm not-"

"Would you stop doing that?" She said a bit exasperated. "I really hate it when you do that."

Lifting his hand away from her as if her skin was burning him, Robin did a double take. Did Regina just snap at him for touching her? What the fuck? That was definitely not how he envisioned his talk with her turning into but it was alright, he could get everything under control in a matter of nothing.

"Then stop trying to walk out on me. Okay look, I just want to have a good one on one talk with you, that's all; can we do that?"

Pursing her lips, Regina ran her fingers through her hair and then she spoke. "Like I said, maybe some other time, I'm going out tonight with Graham."

"You're what?" Robin asked in a loud growl and Regina lifted her face to him, looking at him dead in the eye with all the intensity of her brown orbs. "Why… why would you want to go out with him?"

"He asked me out to make up for last night and I said yes." She said as a matter of fact and for a moment, Robin just stared at her, not understanding why she was saying that she was going out on a date with Graham, again? He just didn't get it…

"Okay, then cancel him. He lost his chance when he gave into the pressure and walked out on you. Now it's my turn to take you out and I won't get a no for an answer."

"I'm not going to cancel him." Folding her arms to her chest, Regina said stubbornly.

For a second, Robin didn't know what to say. He wasn't even sure about what the bloody hell was going on. But then it hit him… she was still mad at him and she wanted to punish him.

"Alright, I get it, you are doing this to make me feel bad and guilty, is that it? Well now that…"

"Robin" Cutting him off, Regina snorted. "Trust me when I tell you that this has nothing to do with you. Whether you believe it or not, not everything that goes around in this world is because of you, and if I'm going out with Graham, it is because I want to. Simple as that."

Taking in a deep breath that was supposed to make him calm down the sudden rush of adrenaline that was rising within his being, Robin ran both his hands down his face and for a while he just tried to organize his thoughts.

It didn't work. His mood had soured since Regina dropped the Graham bomb and he knew he was going to screw things up by opening his mouth. He just knew it.

"You know what? Fuck it; just tell me why the bloody fuck would you want to go out with him after you just told me that you like me, uh? Explain that one to me because I just don't get it."

Dropping her hands to her sides, Regina closed her eyes and tilted her head up. "Robin… let's not do this now, really."

"No, I want to do it now." He hissed, looking down on her as he bit into his lips, hard. "So do you like him too?" He asked bitterly and really, he wasn't sure why he was feeling so upset with her.

But it was just that less than four hours before, she bloody told him that she liked him as more than just a friend and there she was now, planning to go out on a second date with Frodo on steroids.

Opening her eyes and taking in a deep breath, Regina pushed the inside of her cheek with her tongue and looked deep into his eyes. "Not that this is any of your business but yes, I like him; he's a nice guy."

"I see… I see; so do you like him more than you like me?"

"It's not the same, Robin." She replied back, matching the same annoyed tone her friend was using on her.

"Why not?" He asked dryly because he really wanted to know what he was lacking. "What does he have that you rather go out with him than with me? Is it the funny way he walks, do I have to dress all pretty or is it that I'm not geeky enough for you?"

Rolling her eyes, Regina snarled her lips and by that simple act, Robin knew she wasn't in the best of moods. "Oh don't start with the geek thing because we both know that you are the last one that can talk about it; but okay, since you want to know I'm going to tell you what he has that you don't. First, he doesn't see me as his best buddy but as a woman… because I don't know if you have noticed this, but I am a woman and I like to be treated like such; secondly, he notices me in ways…"

"I notice you." Robin said, taking a step towards her, his tone low and dark.

"As a friend, but nothing more; and maybe you think you do now, but we both know that's not real. You just suddenly think you like me because deep inside you are afraid that I'll run away with Graham and leave you behind, but that will disappear if he goes away. After that, we will go back to normal and you won't even understand what got into you."

"That's not the way it is at all so don't tell me what you think I will do; I know now how I feel and what I want and trust me, it's you. Yeah I'm slow and it took me forever and a day to realize it, but the fact remains that I feel for you the same way you do for me and now that we both know, we can't just… ignore it."

Shaking her head and closing her eyes again, Regina snorted. "You took forever and I day and I waited that long for something that never came; but I moved on, Robin… I learned to live with it and you should let me keep moving. I can't mold to your whims, I can't and it's not fair of you to ask me that. I want to take this opportunity with Graham and if you want to keep this friendship alive, then you will let me go and be happy for me."

After saying that, the brunette woman opened her eyes and Robin shook his head. "I can't do that."

"Then we can't be friends."

Snorting in disbelief and feeling a sense of devastation wash over him, Robin did his second double take of the day. "You can't be serious about that… Regina-"

"I am serious." Shrugging and her eyes lowering down to the floor, Regina turned around and started to walk away. For a second, he almost reached for her, but then, letting his hand drop to his side, he just watched her go…

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, just a quick reminder that when I said this story was silly, it was because it is silly. So don’t mind Robin so much when he is brainstorming about how to get rid of Graham… he is not completely serious…

For the last hour and forty-two minutes of his life, Robin Locksley has been trying to formulate in his mind one hell of a plan that would make Regina open her eyes and forget all about that ridiculous idea of giving Graham the chance that by all rights belonged to him.

It was like this, as he sat in a dark corner of the room, he was in a visionary mission and his mind was swirling, scheming and just trying to come up with something… anything that would work in his complete advantage and against that other man that was standing between him and his longtime friend.

So far he has come up with pretty good ideas, and even though they ranged from the most ridiculous to the plain macabre, he couldn’t help but to consider them all... like the one where he would walk into whatever restaurant they were at the moment so he could throw sulfuric acid all over the man's face.

That one right there was just ridiculous because really, where could he buy sulfuric acid in such a short notice? Besides, that plan could backfire because some of the acid could splash on Regina and he didn't want that; no… that would only make her even madder at him and that would be awful to his cause.

So no, besides the fact that he would be committing a pretty awful felony, that one was definitely not going to work. But maybe he could put into motion one of his most brilliant ideas of the night and he could pay some random bum in the street to wait for them outside the restaurant, then once he spotted BAM! He would hit Graham very hard and right in the kisser, you know… just so there was no chance the pretty boy could end the night with a smooch from Regina’s part.

That one right there was actually pretty good because one, no one would ever think he was the one who sent for a homeless person to attack Graham and two, Regina wouldn't want to kiss the bloke’s bloody lips and in his mind, that was very important.

Yeah… he liked that one very much…

Oh, or maybe he could just kidnap Graham when Regina wasn't looking, and thinking that he went missing in action during their date, she would have no choice than returning home to him.

Nodding, the corner of his lips curved into a mischievous grin and he ended up chuckling softly, all that while having the distinct feeling that he has turned into a madman.

"Regina... you are killing me here." He mumbled under his breath as he lifted a hand to run three digits along his brows.

It was just that… he didn't get it; he didn’t understand why she would want to be with Graham if the one she liked was him? 

Was it that he wasn't good enough for the oh so mighty Regina Mills? Or could it be that even though she had feelings for him, she thought he was not going to do good by her?

He didn’t want to think so, because Regina knew him better than anyone and she had to know that if they were ever going to be together, he wouldn’t treat her as anything less than a Queen.

It was with them being nothing more than friends and he would do anything for her… so she had to know… right?

But then again, if she knew, she wouldn’t have told her that awful thing she said, the one about how they couldn’t be friends anymore...

Taking in a deep shaky breath that was meant to make his revolutions turn down a notch and then blowing it out through his mouth, the British native lowered his gaze to his sneakers, his mind wanting to go into full despair mode as little by little, the notion that he might have lost her for good started to settle in…

She was going to move out, then she was going to marry that good for nothing arsehole and he wouldn’t even be invited to the wedding.

“I have to call her…” He mumbled under his breath because no, no, no and a thousand times no, he couldn’t let any of that happen.

He was reaching for his phone to do just that, but then as if on cue, the door began to open.

At the sound, his vivid blue colored orbs immediately shot up and he watched through very perceptive eyes the way she walked in, her brows furrowed and a pout on her lips. He also took special notice of how she came alone and what was better, before eleven, so feeling a pang of hope light inside of him, he watched in silence as she closed the doors and turned on the lights.

For a few seconds, the sudden brightness of the bulb shining from the ceiling blinded him and he had to close his eyes until the discomfort faded away.

"Jesus, Robin, what the hell are you doing here?" She asked in a surprised gasp and even with his eyes closed, he could picture the way she halted on her tracks and delicately pressed the palm of her hand to her chest at the sight of him sitting on the floor of her bedroom, resting his back against her closet’s door and waiting for her.

"Thinking…" He replied gravelly, opening his eyes to find her standing near the bed while she disapprovingly stared him down.

"Then go and think somewhere else, it's late already and I want to call it a night." She said curtly, the pout that has been gracing her lips when she walked in long ago faded so that a snarl could take over.

"Why, aren't you going to tell me about your date? Was it good?" He asked through clenched teeth because just thinking about whatever could have happened between those two, two made his blood boil as it ran through his veins.

Her hand went immediately to massage her temple. "Robin, please don't start with that and just go."

Not minding her words or this new nasty behavior she had whenever she was talking to him as of late, Robin tilted his head up and fixing his eyes in her chocolate colored eyes, he decided to do what every man would do in his situation, lie and wait for his opportunity to strike.

"Alright, I'll go, but before… I just wanted to talk to you before the night was over because… ever since our last conversation, I haven't been able to stop thinking about what you said; you know, about how you think we can’t be friends." Taking a moment to puff out a dramatic breath, he ran his fingers through his already tousled hair. "You were right… I was being an arse and if what you want is for me to step aside so you and Graham can try things out then fine, I'll do that."

Arching an eyebrow and her features softening a bit, Regina crossed her arms to her chest and licked her lips. "Really?"

"Yup," Robin said getting to his feet and stretching. "I mean I got the message clear, either I support you as a friend in this or there's nothing. Believe it or not I care a lot about our friendship to let something like this ruin it. We are better than that, don’t you think?"

Blinking slowly and pursing her lips, Regina looked up, watching him through her long dark eyelashes in a way that definitely tugged things inside of him. 

He wasn’t sure what it was, but her eyes were something else and they were provoking things in him because bloody hell, they were of the prettiest and deepest brown ever; so alive and full of everything that was so her.

“You know I care a lot about our friendship too Robin, and despite what I said, I really would hate for us to end at odds. But you-”

Sensing that she was going to add things like, but you can’t be a bloody jerk to me or whatever, he stepped forward, getting as close to her as he thought necessary. "I know, trust me… I know and it won’t happen again. So are we good? Can we go back at being friends?" Extending his arms and smiling his best dimple smile, he nodded, hoping she would accept the gesture.

"Yeah, I guess." She said with an apparent indifferent shrug, but then her lips cracked with the faint promise of a smile and fuck yeah, he almost had her where he wanted.

She just needed a little bit of a push, so with that in mind, he kept on with his plan, thinking that Graham better start looking for another woman to enamour because this one was as good as his. If not, he was not going to rest until she was…

"Brilliant, now come here." He took yet another step towards her, and when he was even closer, he wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her close enough so that she could give into the embrace.

And that she did it perfectly, dropping her arms from her chest and even going as far as to hug him back.

It was nice, having her so close, especially now that she was wearing high heels and she was just at the right height not only so that he could breathe into the scent of her perfume as it swirled around his nose, but also so that he could whisper right into her ear, his voice low and probably so full of his intents. 

"One thing though…"

"What?"

Swallowing on dry because he was going to little by little make his move and he didn’t want to screw it, he held her closer, his lips pressing into her hair as he kissed the side of her head. "I don't like Graham so please don't ask me to try and befriend him."

Snorting as her hands slid a bit further up his back, Regina shook her head. "You are impossible, Robin."

"I know…" He said, his hand moving up to her face so he could tilt her chin up. "There's another thing too."

"Hmm," She hummed, her eyes shining into his and her eyebrow arching up.

Right in that moment, Robin was very aware that he could just lean forward and kiss her; he was just an inch away from her lips and there was something in her eyes that was telling him that she wouldn't mind, that even though she wanted to ignore it, he was the one she really wanted to be with and Graham was nothing but a second best.

"It's more of a question." He whispered, his hand moving from her chin to the back of her head. 

That way, his fingers buried themselves into her hair as he drank on the lovely sight that were her eyes up close and personal. She was breathtaking like that… and God, she wasn’t pulling away...

"Do you think this is really fair for Graham? I mean I know that you feel something for me, and you know that I feel for you... so with the cards turned up over the table, do you really think this is going to stay purely platonic for long? Think about that… think about what would happen next time I have you so close and I give into the need to kiss you." With that said, he took a step back and when he was about to begin his journey to the door, Regina grunted in frustration.

"What the hell Robin, are you serious? What about all that talk about caring about this friendship and supporting me in this?"

"Oh come on, Regina!" Robin blurted out, raising his hand up in the air. "I mean do you really expect me to sit and smile while I watch you live a farce of a romance with him just because you are afraid of opening your eyes and realize that the thing you supposedly wanted the most about me, the thing that you say to have waited and waited is right in front of you right now, and that you just have to grab it?"

"I'm not afraid of anything, you... lying asshole." She said in a hiss and at her use of that insult, Robin knew he was losing some ground.

He needed to recuperate it and quickly, because he couldn’t afford having her walk out on him angry a second time that night.

"Then what is it?" He asked almost in a tender whisper as he took a step that would take him closer to her. "Regina… I've been thinking and thinking about this and I just can't understand why you want to push me away. I'm really lost here so just tell me what it is."

Closing her eyes and shaking her head, Regina sighed. Robin took the opportunity to walk even closer, lowering his head so he could kiss her.

It was a feather-like kiss that she didn't protest; a meek brush of his lips against her soft ones that lasted less than three seconds.

"Just tell me." He mumbled, grabbing her face in his hands as he waited for a response.

"This is not what you want." She responded, opening her eyes to him. There was a tremble in her voice as she said the words that almost left him speechless; still, he went on.

"Of course it is; I wouldn't be here going out of my mind if it wasn't." With that said, he helped himself to another kiss; he didn't push it though, much like the first one, he just brushed their lips together until he gradually started to put a bit more pressure.

For a few seconds, he just waited for her to pull away and kick him out, but when she didn't, he slowly parted his lips and with his teeth, he lightly pulled at her bottom lip into his mouth.

That's how his kiss started to evolve, his tongue running teasingly across her lips, his teeth tugging at her and finally pushing past her lips with his tongue so he could kiss her like it was meant to be.

And Regina... she soon gave into the moment and she even tilted her face to the side to give more access to him, and when his tongue touched hers so they could melt together, she began to kiss him back.

Congratulating himself for making her kiss him like she was kissing him in that moment, Robin slid his hands to her waist and pulled her closer, their kiss going long and deep as the world moved in slow motion around them…

But then, she did pull away and looking a bit flushed, she blinked her eyes open. She looked lovely like that, cheeks tinged a rosy-red, eyes sparkling and lips moistened. "No, this is not right… we can't-"

"Shhh," He hushed her, his hands still holding her so close that their bodies were pressing together and his eyes delving deep into hers. "Don't think right now…"

After saying that, he searched for her lips again and right in the middle of her room, he kissed her one more time.

Now Regina, Regina, Regina...

It was ridiculous to a certain point, but as he angled his face to the right so he could continue kissing the pretty brunette in his arms with everything that he had, Robin couldn't help but to try and make sense out of the fact that he has known this amazing woman for so many years and that never, at least not before Graham, had he played with the idea that they could be something more than very good friends.

Sure, he wasn't going to lie about it and he had to admit that in some occasions, he has checked her out in ways that were not strictly chaste; but that was what men did, they observed and appreciated the beauty that surrounded them and well, since Regina was always around, he has appreciated her… once or twice.

But if he had to be honest, he never thought too much about those clandestine glances he would sometimes steal out of her from time to time as she walked around their apartment because really, there was nothing to think about them.

He just thought that she was a very pretty woman and he liked spending time with her. That was it; nothing more, nothing less.

So no, not even once did he feel the inclination of kissing her, he never wondered how she would act in the brims of her passion and he never cared to imagine how soft and inviting her lips could feel against his own…

He never thought about those things because this was Regina after all, his friend and companion and yup, even though it would pain him to admit it out loud, before Graham he basically saw her as this 'asexual' being that happened to look really good in anything that she would wear.

But like he said, that has been before Graham came along and now things have changed.

For some reason that he still couldn't comprehend, the mere thought of her and Graham together has triggered something inside of him and now he was seeing her in a whole new light; it was as if a possessive side of him woke up and thus the reason why he acted the way he did.

He got jealous, he got stupid and he kissed her. But it wasn't like he was acting like one of those farmer dogs, the ones that kept predators from messing with the crops but that wouldn't eat them either, no… it wasn't like that at all.

He saw it more like this: he has been blind, he hadn't been able to see what he had in front of him and when Graham came to take off his blindfold off so that he could see Regina for what she really was, a beautiful, smart woman that has been there, at reaching distant all along.

Since that first kiss, he started to see her more as the woman that she was and not like the friend she has always been and no, this woman was anything but asexual.

All of a sudden he started to notice that besides a nice arse, she had a breathtaking smile, eyes of liquid brown that sparkled whenever she looked at him, and that even though she was a bit on the reclusive side, she had a strong aura that has always called to him.

Her voice always put him in a good mood, he admired her strong will and the hard work she would put into everything that she did and why the hell no? It didn't hurt that she had a nice body.

And not only that, but kissing her and having her kiss him back felt ridiculously good and he just couldn't get enough of it.

So, wanting to make the best out of the situation, he lowered his hands from her waist to her hips and then, little by little, he started to descend down towards her arse...

But that was as far as he got because as soon as his restless hands got where they wanted to get, Regina pulled away from him and staring severely straight into his own eyes, she pursed her lips and folded her arms to her chest defensively.

"What do you think you are doing?" She said, her voice coming off as a little breathless but reproachful.

Immediately bringing his hands to himself and away from her, Robin cleared his throat and licked his lips. He could still taste the sweetness of her kiss lingering in his tongue and by the way her cheeks were flushed, he was sure that their kiss was still in her mind too.

"Well, I… I was kissing you?"

Dropping her hands to her sides and rolling her eyes, Regina sighed out loud and then shook her head. "I know what you were doing, what I meant is why are you all of a sudden feeling like kissing me and getting touchy friendly with me?"

Feeling content despite the fact that her mood was apparently getting sour, the blue-eyed man clicked his tongue to his cheek.

"I don't know okay; and I won't get poetical or cheesy here because you deserve all my honesty. But Regina... you can't deny that there's something here brewing between us; I felt it the first time I kissed you and I felt it now."

Walking a step closer and taking special notice that she remained where she was, standing while her eyes locked with his, Robin allowed his hand to settle back on her waist and he pulled her a bit near towards him.

"Come on, you admitted that you like me, I told you that I like you so what's the problem? Isn't this the next logical step?"

"No it is not and you know it. Robin..." She started to say as she ran her fingers through her hair. To the blue-eyed man, she looked a little distressed and lost and he knew he had to appeal to her now. "I think you better go."

"Go? No… I think I better stay here and talk some sense into you. Or better yet, why don't I just kiss you until you begin to see what we have here."

And he was sure that he could convince her and make her forget about her stupid idea of trying things with Graham with his kisses; after all he has felt the way she kissed him, the way her hand went to the back of his head to hold him close and the way she has melted against him while he held her.

So yeah he was sure that she wanted this; and no matter that her mind was unsure, the rest of her body and spirit wanted him. He knew it.

With that in mind and feeling confident, Robin leaned closer and sought for her mouth to kiss; but just when he brushed against her lips with his, she moved her head to the side and he ended up kissing her cheek.

"Don't… do that. Look, you are right that I feel attracted to you, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to fall stupidly at your feet just because you kissed me a few times or because you claim to all of a sudden have an interest in me. I don't know for whom you are taking me, but you are very mistaken if you think-"

Quirking his lips and straightening up, Robin looked down to his friend and blinked a few times before interrupting her. "So what are you planning on doing? Keep dating Graham even though the one you are attracted to is me? Because if that's it, consider yourself warned; I'm not going to let it happen."

Hell no he wasn't!

Grunting, Regina covered her face with her hands and threw her head back. "Jesus Robin, why are you doing this to me?" She asked, her voice a broken whisper that was barely audible to his ears.

But he heard her, and as soon as the words filled his mind, he realized that she wasn't acting pissed off now; now she was… okay, he didn't know how she was acting now, he only knew that he didn't like the defeated tone she was using when addressing him.

But he needed to keep pressing, she was probably crumbling in her resolution of pushing him away and he needed to be there for the moment.

He needed to open her eyes…

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing. Why are you doing this to me? You are pushing me away Regina, and it shouldn’t be like this."

Allowing him to take her hands off her own face, the brunette opened her eyes. "I care a lot about you, you know that, and with how much I put up for you, you must be aware that I also don't want to lose you; but if I let you drag me into this thing, sooner rather than later you'll realize that this wasn't what you wanted and that’s exactly what will happen. We will end drifting apart and I wouldn't take that well Robin, not from you."

Her words frustrated the hell out of him and it showed in the way he talked back to her, still, he lowered his hands to her hips and allowed them to settle there. "And what makes you think this is not what I want?"

“Because you are acting out of… I don’t know, some sort of jealousy? You are being all brotherly on me and you’re doing it so hard that you don’t even realize that it isn’t like you want to be with me, but that you just don’t want me to be with anybody else.”

“Brotherly?” He snorted, his fingers grabbing her harder. “I don’t have sisters, but if I did, I would never want to kiss them like I want to kiss you right now. Regina… what I feel is not just jealousy. Yes it is there because the mere thought of you going out with that dork has me going crazy, and I feel like that because I want to be the one taking you out; I want to see you dressing like you are right now and think damn, she is looking this stunning for me… for nobody else.”

Scoffing, Regina pouted her lips and looked down to the floor. She looked so delicate and lost that he felt like kissing all her worries away… not that he was going to do it or even tell her of course; he knew she wanted people to see her as anything but weak, so he just bit on his lips and pulled her closer.

"I’ve never been so sure about something in my life before as I am right now when it comes to what I want with you, but I'll tell you what. Why don't we take this slow, no rush? We'll keep acting as we always do but with a few little changes. Nothing too drastic, I'm just going to take you out to nice places, I'll let you kiss me whenever you feel like it and most importantly, you will definitely not go on any more dates with Graham... or anybody else."

Regina arched an eyebrow and looked at him with a tingle of amusement in her eyes. "That's dating, Robin, not taking things slowly."

Puffing out a breath and then shrugging exaggeratedly, he chuckled. "Then let's date."

At such an idea, Regina cleared her throat, moment that Robin took to lift a hand so that he could brush her hair behind her ear. 

"Date... I don't know; this is kind of too much." She replied, her lips curving slightly into a peculiar grimace. "I mean think about it; we know each other too well and we live together, so it will be... weird."

"It's not going to be weird, it will only save us from having to go through that nuisance of getting to know our quirks and perks because we already know them; same way we know our likes and dislikes. We don’t have to change much, promise. It's going to be as always, just you and me… only that you will have the amazing benefit of kissing me all the times that you want to.”

Her eyes rolled, but she was also so relaxed in his arms that he didn’t even get worried. Besides, he was sure that what wanted to break out of her lips was a smile so yeah, he was pretty much sure he was heading the right way. 

“So tell me, yes or yes?"

Pulling away from him, Refina turned on her heels and walked to the door. "Alright, how about this? We are both going to sleep on this tonight, and if tomorrow morning we are on the same page, we could test the water for some time and see how it goes. If it gets weird or if you realize we were better off as friends, you will tell me and then we go back to the way things were before."

Once that was said, she opened the door and turned around to face him. 

"We take it slow too because we are not going to ruin a friendship for nothing, so take it or leave it."

Robin felt like he wanted to jump, hug her and then kiss her right on the spot, but because he didn’t want to go ahead of himself, he refrained from the impulse. "And in this slow of yours, do you get to kiss me?"

Snorting, Regina closed her eyes momentarily and then opened them back to look at him. She didn't respond though.

"What? It's a fair question. I mean… I am your friend before anything, and I don’t think it will be fair for you not to be able to kiss me. I have to look out for your interest, you know?"

"Okay, I'll kiss you if I feel like it."

"Perfect, so what about now? Do you feel like kissing me?"

"Robin-" She called out in a warning and then she shook her head. "It's getting late, why don't you think about this some more and then decide what you want?"

Ah, for the love of Jebus! Why was she so set up into believing he didn't want this? But that was okay, he was going to dance at her own beat and show her that he wasn't acting out of jealousy or wild impulses.

He really wanted to try things with her and he was going to show her how much he wanted that.

"Regina, I don’t have to sleep on it or think about anything, because I already know what I want…”

“Then just humor me okay. Now goodnight.” 

“Are you kicking me out?" He asked, pointing at the open door and the way she was holding it for him to get out.

"What, no, not really. Why?"

"Nothing… I don't know where I got that impression. Must be in my mind." He chuckled with sarcasm while running a hand through his hair, but that was okay too; if she wanted to take things slow then he was going to do just that.

Little people knew that of him, but he could be quite charming... if he wanted to, so smiling, he tilted his head to the side and walked to her. Once he was near, he leaned into her and kissed the corner of her lips. He lingered there for a while, wanting to aim for her lips but deciding to leave that for later.

"See you tomorrow then." He whispered and pulling away, he gave her one last glance.

When he backed off, he saw that she was biting on her lips and her eyes were shining into his, but after flashing her way a confident grin, he nodded his head and then he started to walk out of the room.

If she wanted to make sure that he was the guy for her and vice versa, she was going to find out very soon; and when she did, he was sure that things were going to be more than amazing.

He was already looking forward to see how their relationship progressed.

With that thought in mind, he walked with all the calm in the world down to his own room, making a mental score in his mind. Robin: 2, Graham: 0.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I needed to end this story on a good note and this is the only way I could do it. Hope you like and thanks for sticking to the very end.

"Robin, stop it-"

Biting down the playful smirk that wanted to break out of his lips as he buried the tip of his nose into the crook of Regina's neck, the British man known as Robin Locksley blatantly ignored the request, for a moment almost convincing himself that he did so because her words came out in such a low whisper, that they barely registered into his brain.

At least that was the excuse, because yeah, the words and their meaning did settle in and yes he heard her alright, but because he was basically doing nothing at all and he didn't think there was any conviction in her voice, he just let everything enter through his right ear and escape through his left.

This was Regina after all, and if she really wanted him to stop, she would have long ago sent an elbow straight to his face to make him back away.

But she wasn't, and even if she didn't seem too enthusiastic about his ministrations, she wasn't fully repelling them either and to him, that was a good start.

"You know what I would like right now?" He asked, his tone low and raspy as his face moved up, his lips brushing against the soft skin of her cheek in a feather-light kiss.

To that, Regina said and did nothing, so taking her lack of response as his green light to proceed, he slid his lips down the line of her jaw. His goal? Reaching that sweet hollow spot between her neck and collar bone that he knew she liked to be kissed on.

It was a recent discovery, the spot… barely explored territory, and he wanted to discover everything about it...

At least that was the plan, but as if breaking the spell he has been falling into, Regina sighed, moving her face away from his insistent lips.

It was a thing of a few seconds, one moment she was there, smelling and feeling so good and then she stopped watching the TV so that she could stare at him through half closed lids.

Now, her eyes said it all, and even if she hadn't elbowed him or bitten his head off for not listening to her before, she was doing the equivalent of it now by sending him a silent warning to back off.

"What?" Robin asked innocently and when she went back to paying attention to the movie, he shook his head and blew out a frustrated sigh.

What could he say? The woman at his side was usually a bit more receptive to his kisses than what she was being in that moment; but that night, as he lay on his stomach looking at her, he couldn't help but to conclude that it was turning to be extremely difficult to tear out of her even the sightless of responses.

She would brush his hand away if he dared to touch her, she hadn't let him kiss her in the many occasions he has tried, and every time he leaned into her to talk into her ear, she would quietly tell him to shut up.

It was bloody frustrating; and even though he has spent the past couple of weeks being nothing but patient in this new phase of their relationship, that night was turning to be quite a challenge to him.

Of course, he was a hundred percent sure that Regina was acting particularly difficult that night because Little John was there, sitting in the floor while engulfing into his face another slide of pizza straight from the box and well, his roommate turned love interest just hated audiences; but even when that was the case, the whole thing was just more than a little frustrating.

Sure, Regina was against labels or rushing things too fast, but he already considered her his girlfriend, and in what kind of Universe couldn't a man kiss his girl without her sending him warning glances just because a mutual friend was there?

Like... it wasn't like he wanted to shove his tongue down her throat or dry hump her, but a few smooches maybe?

But nooo, she wasn't having it, and he was resenting Little John for it.

That was the reason why he has been hoping to have a one on one night with just her, so that this wouldn't happen; but because it was stupid Movie Night and apparently the ritual couldn't be broken, John and Regina picked a couple of movies from Prime, ordered a few pizzas, and even dragged him down to their local bodega to stock up on some beer and snacks.

Usually, the tattooed man enjoyed those nights, especially when it was his turn to choose a movie, but that Wednesday, he was just not feeling it. Actually, for him that night was turning out to be nothing more than a big pile of frustration, and as much as it pained him to say it, that frustration had a name, Regina Mills.

Now don't get him wrong, because he was happy with how things were turning and as each day passed, he found himself even more into her. He really enjoyed her company, he was ecstatic that they were crawling out of the friend zone and yadda yadda yadda… but it was also true that the woman was killing him.

Sure, since she decided to give them a try, she blatantly let him know that she wanted to take things slow and he has agreed, but her definition of slow was too damn slow and he was honestly feeling like a damn adolescent sucker who had a girlfriend that he couldn't touch like he really wanted to.

It was just… it was bad!

Yes, she was letting him kiss her, that was true and at first he has been content with that; but as the days started to pass by, those kisses started to turn needy and every night he was left off craving for more.

It was like this, in the middle of every late night kissing session, she would pull away, smile and either change the subject or say she was going to call it a night.

Take last Sunday night for example; in an attempt to spoil her and make her see that he wasn't just about hanging on the couch watching movies and eating junk food, he took her out to a nice restaurant where they had what he considered an amazing time. She looked stunning, he didn't look too shabby himself and over a bottle of good wine, they chatted and laughed and sure, flirted a lot. After, he took her for a walk in Central Park so that they could hand in hand, roam along and God, it has been simply perfect.

The moon was full, she looked beautiful, her eyes were bright and her laugh so genuine, that he could have sworn he was completely in love.

Now, smitten as he was, he knew the drill so it wasn't like he has been harboring any hope that something more than a few furtive kisses by her bedroom door would happen at the end of it all, but he sure as hell wasn't opposed to it.

That's why he didn't push it, because he was letting her be the one settling their pace.

Now, much as it happened in all their previous makeout sessions, their kiss started innocent enough, lips pressed together, a nip here and there, his tongue sliding into her mouth… but then things started to get a bit heated up and well, his fingers got carried away and moved from her waist towards her ribcage and finally to the swell of her chest.

That was actually the first time he went up there and much to his surprise, Regina didn't protest the touch. She just kissed him harder and deeper until he in response, pinned her between his body and the door.

It has been mindblowing, endearing even, to know that Regina was also interested in the less platonic part of their attraction and that night, she was letting him know not only by letting him touch her, but also by touching him too.

She also kissed him like never before, with a sweet urgency that made him feel dizzy, especially when she let him keep touching her through her shirt, her own hands sliding underneath his so she could run her fingers up his spine.

So yeah, they kissed, with his knee sneaking between her legs and her lips demanding, and even when he didn't want to come off as a horny SOB, he has been so sure that his moment was finally coming.

Only that it didn't. In the middle of their make-out session and just when his hand slid under her dress, up her thigh and settled right against the crotch of her panties, the obnoxious sound of siren going off down the street echoed all around and disentangling her frame from him, Regina wished him a good night and then she was gone, leaving him high and dry while staring at her door…

Shaking his head away from that memory, Robin cleared his throat and pushed the inside of his cheek with his tongue. "He's not even looking, come on… just a kiss… a little one."

"Yeah, and then you are going to want another one and then another one and we'll end up freaking him out."

Moving closer to her until his entire side was pressed against her, Robin smirked. "Freak him out how? I'm just asking for a kiss here. Unless you are looking for something more than kissing and I'll tell you right now, I'm game for anything as long as it doesn't involve him."

Rolling her eyes and turning her face to him, the brunette woman gave him a soft kiss on the lips and then she stood up. "I'm going to get something to drink, do you want something?"

Smirking slyly, he nodded and pointed at her.

On her part, she just arched an eyebrow and sent him one of her stare downs. "John?"

"No I'm okay."

Turning on her heels, Regina headed towards the kitchen, with Robin following every movement she did with his eyes.

"Jesus man, when did you turn into such a corny bastard?" Little John said in a bemused chuckle as he turned around to face his friend. "Kiss me Regina, kiss me, kiss me…muah muah, eck, I think I'm going to puke."

"Fuck off, weido, and stop eavesdropping, you'll freak Regina out." Flipping him the bird and taking a quick look to make sure Regina wasn't coming yet, the blue-eyed man got to his knees and did a quick search into the pocket of his cargo pants.

He had two twenties, some spare change and a handful of cherry bubble gum.

"I ain't spying, you're just not too subtle."

"Listen, I'll give you forty dollars if you fake a stomach ache and leave."

"What?" John squealed. "No, no way. As the good friend that I am, I have to look for Regina's virtue and man, I can only see bad intentions in your eyes."

At those words, Robin did a double take and chuckled. "What the fuck man, I thought you were my friend."

Shrugging, the other man turned around and focused his attention back to the movie. "I am, but I like Regina better. But I don't know, maybe… maybe if you let me borrow indefinitely your Star Wars DVD collection, I would think about it."

Scoffing in disbelief but noticing that Regina was already making her way back, Robin snarled his lips and then cussed under his breath. "You are a fucking Judas." He hissed through clenched teeth. "But alright, alright… just get out."

Shrugging, Little John sighed. "Hmm, I'll think about it, I don't know if I want Regina alone with a man that thinks Han Solo and Princess Leah are the epitome of what romance should be."

Opening his mouth to tell him something that wasn't very nice, Robin saw Regina sitting back on the cushion she had on the floor so he closed it back shut.

"What did I miss?" The brunette asked before taking a sip of her beer, and feeling a bit bitter about how she had more interest in the movie than what she had on him, Robin snarled his lips as he sent John a murderous stare.

But then, he saw John doubling over and he waited, thinking that maybe it wasn't all lost.

"Ufff, I have to go…" He said simply, jumping to his feet and walking straight to the door.

Regina watched him, her face lifting up so she could take a good look at their mutual friend leaving. "What happened?"

Shrugging and biting down the urge to smirk, Robin took a deep breath. "I don't know; a minute ago he said something about being allergic to anchovies before farting really loud, didn't you hear it?"

Arching an eyebrow, Regina tilted her face in his direction. "That pizza doesn't have anchovies, Robin; what did you tell him?"

"Moi? I didn't… how can you even think I had something to do with it? He was probably feeling embarrassed after farting in my presence and he didn't want to do it in front of you, what do I know? You know he is weird like that."

Pursing her lips and moving her head back to the TV, she just blinked slowly. "Don't lie to me, I hate when you do that." She said before taking another sip of her beer.

"Okay, so maybe I suggested something about him leaving us here alone. Not that I had to insist too much, I don't think he liked that movie."

Regina shook her head, putting the bottle over the coffee table. "You are impossible."

Sliding down from the sofa and moving along the floor, the London native positioned himself behind her, putting his legs at her sides and one of his arms circling her waist. "Why, can't a guy want some time alone with his woman?"

At that, Regina chuckled amusedly and turned her head to the side. "Your woman? Well that's new… wow."

With her head angled like that, her face was in a perfect position for Robin to kiss; but instead of doing that, he pulled her even closer to him and buried his nose into her hair.

"Well, I think it's safe to say we are more than friends… and you don't want to be my girlfriend, so I'm going to skip some steps and call you my woman."

Throwing her head back, the New Yorker placed her right hand over Robin's arm. "Robin, calling someone your woman is a bit… I don't know, weird… chauvinistic too. I mean... the only thing left for you to do is drag me by the hair everywhere we go, claiming _my woman, back off… don't look at her._ "

"Drag you by the hair? Mmm, I'll do it if that turns you on." Robin said and preventing her from pulling away from him, he held her tighter, chuckling as she tried to elbow him right on the ribs.

"God, I don't know how I put up with you…"

Before she could go on and call him whatever she wanted to call him, Robin leaned forward and kissed her mouth. He did it almost tenderly, and when he felt the way she parted her lips for him, he pushed his tongue right in so he could touch it to hers.

As always, he was amazed at how quickly he has gotten used to her; to the sweet taste of her kisses, to the way her lips were so pliable to him as well as to her scent.

It just felt so natural being with her and yeah, he couldn't help but want to take things with her a step forward.

Slowly pulling away and ending the kiss by pressing his lips to her chin, he blew out a breath and then arched an eyebrow.

"So! It seems like we are alone… all by ourselves and with no one, no one to interrupt us."

Humming and blinking slowly, Regina turned completely around, sitting on her crunches so she could look at him eye to eye. "Yeah, it seems so."

"So aren't you getting ideas in that pretty head of yours? Because I am…" He said, licking his lips and reaching for her.

Once his arm was around her waist, he pulled her closer and without wasting another second, he went back to kissing her.

Regina responded at once, resting her hands to his chest, angling her head towards his and parting her lips so he could explore her at will. And Robin did just that, his tongue slowly taking residence inside her mouth and swirling slowly around hers.

They had kissed like that before, but they always did it by her door, in the car and if no one was looking, she would let him kiss her when they were walking down the street. But this was different… he didn't exactly know why, but it was.

Feeling motivated by her good response, Robin moved his hands to the back of her head and cradled it into his palms. He held her like that for a few prolonged seconds, his fingers getting lost in her dark locks as he slowly, so very slowly, lowered her frame over the cushions on the floor.

Once he got her where he wanted her, laying on her back with him hovering dangerously over her, he moved his hands down to her hips so that his fingers could play with the edge of her shirt… hinting that if she allowed him, he would like to sneak in to explore her like he has never done before.

But way before his fingers could touch her skin, she ended the kiss and pushed him gently off until there was a good distance between them.

"What is it?" He asked, his voice raspy and his eyes shining into hers.

Clearing her throat and sneaking away from his hold, Regina sat down and bit on her lips, her cheeks tinged with a bit of red and her eyes sparkling a shade darker. "Nothing, I just…" Shrugging and opening her eyes as wide as she could, she blew out a breath.

Sitting as well, Robin took in a deep breath and ran a hand down his face. After doing that, he just stared at Regina, trying to figure out what was going on inside her head. By the look in her face, he knew that she wanted to say something, but for some reason she wasn't telling him.

Could it be that she didn't want this?

Sure, a bit over a week after they started trying things out, he managed to tear the confession out of her that she has basically liked him as something more than a friend since the beginning of their friendship; but realistically speaking, that she has harbored some kind or romantic feelings towards him for more than five years, didn't necessarily mean that she wanted to take those feelings into something more physical.

What if she has liked him for so long that now she felt apathetic towards him? Or what if those feelings faded away long ago and now she just didn't want to get into a relationship with him?

After all she has been ready to give Graham a chance and why would she do that if she had feelings for him?

Shit, he was confused.

"You don't want this… is that what's wrong?" He asked, his tone getting lower and maybe, just maybe a bit insecure.

"No, no... I do want it," Robin." She said at once, but then she ran a hand across her face and shrugged. "I really do, but I don't know… is this why you wanted John to leave?"

"No… definitely no. Well, maybe." He said twisting his lips into a pout; but then he saw the way she arched her eyebrows at him and he snorted. "Alright, I'm not going to lie, I mean we are both adults here and I've never been one to sugar coat things so here it is; I want to be with you, period. I mean you can't expect me not to; I'm a man so I have this in my chromosomes. Besides we are dating, it's only natural that I want this to happen."

"I want it to happen too."

"Brilliant, then what are we waiting for?" He asked out loud, ready to start peeling his clothes off if she gave the word.

"Don't you think it will be weird, I mean we've known each other for so long and this is a big step; there will be no turning back from this."

"And who wants to turn back from this? I mean unless you want to go back to sighing dreamily over me and checking me out while my innocent self is unaware of everything."

Opening her mouth and then closing it, Regina lifted a hand and pushed him off playfully. "I never sighed dreamily over you and-"

"Oh, but you did check me out, didn't you? See, this is the reason I don't like having female friends, all they do is check me out and undress me with their eyes. I thought you were different, Regina."

"I never…" She gasped, shaking her head from side to side. "You know what; I think I'll leave you here all alone now."

"I don't think so." He hissed, grabbing her hand and thus stopping her from getting up.

To that, Regina rolled her eyes and quirked her lips, but she made no other attempt to move.

"Come here," He said, pulling her close. Once she was at reaching distance, he tilted his head towards hers and kissed her again. As soon as their lips met, Regina rested one hand to his chest and the other one went to the back of his head, her fingers getting lost into his hair as their tongues danced that sweet dance of exploration.

They went like that for a while, but then he moved his lips to her jaw and started to kiss a path down her throat.

"I don't mind that you had perverted thoughts about me; in fact I like it, and to show you how much I like it, I'm going to give you unlimited access to me." He mumbled against her flesh and as soon as the words were out, Regina laughed.

He smiled in return, his tongue darting out so that he could taste the sweetness of her skin.

"Is that so…" She said, her tone sounding to his ears a bit playful and thus very promising.

Humming absentmindedly, he nodded. "Yes, you can do to me whatever you want and I won't even try to stop you." After saying that he moved his lips back to hers and shutting whatever reply she could mumble, he slid his hands to her back and ever so slightly, squeezed her against him.

Without letting go of the kiss, he dragged her his way and it wasn't until she was conveniently straddling him, that he stopped pulling her so that he could instead place his hands to the back of her jeans.

For a second, he was sure that she was going to push him away and then smack him in the face for touching her there and he was mentally prepared for it; but instead of doing that, she just kissed him deeper, her body pressing to him even harder.

That right there made him twitch uncomfortably inside his pants so breaking the kiss, he moved his hands to her shirt and gave it a slight pull.

She didn't stop him, so he tentatively started to pull the offending fabric off until it was out of his way and she was sitting over him one step away from being completely topless.

"Is this really what you want? I don't want you to regret this first thing in the morning." She said in whisper as the tip of his fingers started to run up her ribcage.

Snorting, Robin pulled her closer. "Are you kidding me? I thought I proved that this is what I wanted a long time ago; but in case it hadn't registered in that pretty head let me say it, I want to be with you and no, I won't regret this."

Chewing on her lips, Regina leaned forward and wrapped an arm to his neck. Robin automatically returned the embrace, kissing her shoulder, her closeness making him stir even more…

"I'm sorry… I just don't want you to do this for the wrong reason; you know how I feel about you so if you really want this…"

At her words, Robin's lips curved into a smirk and he opened his mouth to reply with a fuck yeah; but then he closed his mouth shut, watching as Regina pulled away from their embrace so she could look at him eye to eye.

"So that's it? Aren't you at least trying to enamor me? You really think I'm so easy."

"Oh, don't start." She said, looking up to the ceiling while her face flushed a rosy red.

Chuckling and achieving the goal of seeing her smile, Robin grabbed her chin and made her look at him.

"No regrets then, right?" He asked, getting more serious and wanting to make sure this was what she wanted as well.

"No." She said, reaching forward to kiss him full on the lips.

Closing his eyes and returning the kiss, he moved his hands along her naked back, feeling and enjoying the softness of her skin underneath his fingers.

A month ago, he would have laughed if someone told him that he and Regina would end up like that, but now that he was there, he couldn't imagine it otherwise.

Maybe John was right and he was turning soft, but if that was the price to pay to have the woman in his arms kissing him like that, then he didn't mind.

Besides he was able to see now; before he has been too blind to see what he had in front of him and because of that, he almost lost her to the likes of Graham. Thankfully, he opened his eyes in time, he did what he had to do and now he wasn't going to let go of her.

With that in mind, that night Robin claimed Regina all for himself and she did the same with him; they touched each other in places they had never done before, they kissed with a passion hard to control and they gave into one another completely, breaking down those final high bricks that were still holding them back.

That night they gave that ultimate step that finally broke the boundaries of their friendship to give way to something so much deeper, something that neither of them wanted to ever give up.

FIN


End file.
